from the United States government. Hanssen used his position in the FBI to
sell classified information to the Soviet KGB and later Russian
Intelligence. A complex and often contradictory portrait emerged in the
109-page federal affidavit that detailed Hanssen's activities. The
FBI alleged that Hanssen intentionally stole secret documents and sold
them for private financial gain to the KGB over a period of 15 years. Like
most double agents, a different social portrait of the man emerged.
Friends, neighbors, and family described Hanssen as quiet, frugal, and
devout.

Born in April 1944, Hanssen was the only child of Vivian and Howard
Hanssen, a Chicago police lieutenant. He studied Russian and earned
degrees in chemistry. After flirting with various career interests,
Hanssen joined the Chicago Police Department in October, 1972. His first
post was in a new undercover unit called C-5, which sought out corrupt
police officers.

Hanssen's intelligence and ability stood out even in the elite C-5
group. A colleague suggested he join the FBI. On January 12, 1976, he
joined the FBI, working in Indiana and New York City before being
transferred to the Washington, D.C., headquarters in 1981. He initially
tracked white-collar crime and monitored foreign officials assigned to the
United States. Hanssen also spent two years as a member of a high-level
analytical unit that monitored Soviet intelligence. While working as an
analyst, Hanssen gathered and copied classified materials and began making
contact with the Soviet KGB.

In 1985, Hanssen transferred to the FBI's Manhattan bureau to head
a foreign counterintelligence squad. At that post, Hanssen could more
readily funnel information to his Soviet handlers. Though his motives
remained unclear, within nine days of joining the New York office Hanssen
allegedly mailed a letter to the KGB offering stolen classified documents
in exchange for $100,000. Over the next 15 years, with varying frequency,
Hanssen sold information to rival foreign intelligence services.

In February 2000, Hanssen was arrested on espionage charges at a
"dead drop" at a park near his home. The FBI accused him of
receiving more than $600,000 in cash and diamonds for delivering 6,000
pages of documents and 26 computer discs to his Russian handlers. It was
also alleged that $800,000 more was waiting for him in a Moscow bank. The
FBI built its case against Hanssen by collecting, from unidentified
sources, packages that bore Hanssen's fingerprints, and the
apparent KGB file on Hanssen, which detailed his drops and letters to the
Russian intelligence agency. Upon further investigation, the FBI compiled
evidence of Hanssen's decades-long career as a double agent.

On May 10, 2002, Hanssen was sentenced to life in prison without the
possibility of parole. In his trial, he plead guilty to all counts of
espionage and conspiracy that were levied against him.